


These Unexpected Feelings

by hailey_writes



Category: Teenage Bounty Hunters (TV)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Mostly Canon Compliant, Season 1 Through April's Eyes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29477478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hailey_writes/pseuds/hailey_writes
Summary: April Stevens is determined to have a perfect junior year, but Sterling Wesley seems equally determined to ruin that in every way possible. Turns out, there's a lot more to her old nemesis than she thought.This story covers season 1 and the evolution of the Stepril relationship through April's eyes.
Relationships: April Stevens/Sterling Wesley
Comments: 22
Kudos: 65





	1. Chapter 1

April Stevens couldn’t believe it was already the first day of her junior year. There was a spring in her step as she got dressed and headed downstairs to make coffee. This year was going to be incredible. She had gotten into all the classes she wanted: Spanish, Physics, World History, Gym and Health, Classic Literature, Pre-Calculus, and Religion. All were advanced level, of course, except for Spanish, Gym, and Religion, as Willingham only offered regular versions of those. She’d have to write a letter to the school board about that. 

School was her favorite thing. Not only was learning one of life’s greatest pleasures, but also nothing gave April a sense of accomplishment quite like making the Dean’s List every quarter. She took immense pride in her 4.0 GPA and had high hopes for an Ivy League undergrad. If she kept up her brilliant track record, she’d be a shoo-in for valedictorian once graduation rolled around next year. April had already started planning the first draft of her speech over the summer.

Perhaps most importantly of all, becoming a junior meant she was, at long last, eligible to become Fellowship Leader. There was no greater honor at Willingham. Her father had been Fellowship Leader as a senior back in 1990, and his expectations for her to follow in his footsteps had been clear ever since she started high school. Disappointing him wasn’t an option. 

The man himself appeared in the kitchen just as she got out the coffee beans.

“Good morning, Daddy!” she exclaimed, smiling brightly.

“Good morning, Padawan. Where’s my coffee?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just started brewing it.”

He mumbled something under his breath but took a seat at the breakfast bar anyway. April felt nervous and hoped he’d cheer up once he got his caffeine fix. He woke up earlier than she did most days but never made his own coffee. John Stevens was adamant about never lifting a finger to serve himself in a house full of women. It made April uncomfortable, but she didn’t hate herself enough to openly question why he couldn’t press a button on the coffee machine.

“Excited for your first day?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” she replied. “I hope I’m chosen for Fellowship Leader.”

Too proud to use a step stool like a child, April stood up on her tiptoes to reach the cabinet where the coffee mugs lived. She pulled out two, one for herself and one for her father. Her mother was a housewife and generally didn’t wake up before 9 a.m. on days when April was up early for school, so she didn’t bother to set one out for her. 

“There’s no hoping. You _will_ be chosen,” said her father, his voice stern.

April didn’t know what to say to that, so she focused on pouring the coffee. She took hers black, but her father liked exactly two tablespoons of milk in his, no sugar. It was also imperative that she always served him first, or else hell would break loose. With another bright smile, she handed him his coffee in his favorite “World’s Greatest Daddy” mug.

He took a sip and made a face of approval. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Daddy,” she said as she turned her attention to her own cup, which had a cute drawing of Baby Yoda on the front. “What would you like for breakfast? I was thinking about making avocado toast.”

“Avocado toast?” Her father rolled his eyes. “What are you, Californian? I want bacon and eggs.”

There was no way she’d have time to make both breakfasts _and_ get to school early, so April resigned herself to eating what her father wanted. As she started to heat up a pan for the eggs, her beloved tabby cat, Sgt. Bilko, appeared and rubbed his cheek against her leg. 

She looked down at the adorable creature and cooed, “Hey, Bilko! Don’t worry, buddy, you’ll get your breakfast too as soon as I’m finished here.”

“Damn cat,” her father said with a scowl. “Get out of the kitchen!”

Sgt. Bilko meowed and rushed out of the kitchen. April had never understood how her father could be so cruel to an innocent animal, especially one as cute as that cat. He had only allowed her to have a pet after years of careful negotiation. She resolved to make sure she’d take time to give Sgt. Bilko extra ear scratches before she left for school.

Twenty minutes later, after her father and the cat had been fed, April grabbed the keys to her white Range Rover and headed off to school. She was excited to see Ezekiel and Hannah B. again. It had been about three weeks since their last hangout because Ezekiel had gone to visit his grandparents in Florida. They were her two best friends. Well, if she was being honest with herself, they were her only friends after what had happened with Allie Montgomery at the beginning of the summer. 

April felt a knot form in her stomach at the memory. Nothing was worse than being reminded of her cringeworthy fallout with the tall, blonde, gorgeous soccer player. It was such a horrible ordeal that she’d had to bake five dozen cookies for the homeless just to feel whole again. After weeks of spending all their free time together, Allie had gotten a boyfriend. Allie had gotten a moronic, toilet-humor-obsessed boyfriend the day after she had called April “the smartest and prettiest girl in our class” and let her rub sunscreen on her gloriously toned back at the lake house. This seemed to happen every single time April thought a girl might like her back. _Of course_ she’d had a jealous freakout during which she accused Allie of abandoning her friendship in favor of the sinful temptation of penis. Honestly, who could blame her?

Maybe they wouldn’t have any classes together. She said a quick prayer asking God to ensure they wouldn’t have any classes together as she pulled into the school parking lot.

While trying to find a suitable parking spot, April noticed the Wesley twins, Sterling and Blair, walking into the main classroom building. She rolled her eyes and amended her prayer to include not having classes with them either. If she somehow ended up trapped between Allie Montgomery and Sterling Wesley, she just might actually die. 

Those Wesleys were the worst. Sterling was nauseatingly perfect, and Blair was just edgy. Unfortunately, both were in Fellowship and Sterling was in Forensics Club, so she’d have to deal with them even if she was somehow fortunate enough to not have either in any of her classes. April dreaded the thought. She still hadn’t forgiven Sterling for abandoning her on the playground six years ago. Why was she the only person in all of Willingham who could see Little Miss Perfect’s truly nasty nature?

Once she had parked, April checked her hair and makeup in the mirror one last time before stepping out of the car. If she wanted a shot at Fellowship Leader, she had to look and feel her best at the first meeting of the year!

***

April loved Hannah B., but she was really getting tired of her song. Of course it was wonderful that Hannah B. had discovered a hobby she was passionate about. She’d be proud to support her friend’s guitar playing at literally any other time. It was just that April really needed to talk about what she had done over the summer holidays in case Ellen hadn’t made her final decision for Fellowship Leader yet. She knew Hannah B. would understand, so she placed a gentle hand on her arm to remind her to stop.

“Sorry, sorry,” whispered Hannah B. with a sweet smile as she set down her guitar.

April grabbed her iPad out of her bag, then cleared her throat and stood up. She caught Ellen’s eye and hoped to make an impact. This was her time to shine!

“This summer, I was so blessed that my _amazing_ Daddy,” she turned the iPad outwards to the group to show a photo of them together, “let me and my squad use his helicopter to hop up to our lake house for a discipleship weekend.”

Truthfully, they had spent about three hours knitting sweaters full of Christ’s infinite love for underprivileged kids and the rest of the time partying as soon as her father left, but that was her secret with Ezekiel and Hannah B.

“We had such a productive time in quiet worship and, of course, doing acts of service. We knitted sweaters for the sick, dirty babies with tiny heads in Brazil. Sweaters filled with Christ’s infinite love.”

April swiped through several more photos, coming to pause on one of her sitting by the poolside with a yarn project in hand. She looked pretty good in that bikini, if she did say so herself. Maybe a girl would notice.

“Oh!” she exclaimed as she swiped to the next picture. It was a little boy wearing a sweater she had knitted and holding a sign thanking her. “ _Abril_ means April in Brazilian.”

April knew people didn’t speak “Brazilian” in Brazil, but she’d bet her Range Rover that none of the other losers in this room did.

“Oooh, _Abril,_ wow. Okay—” began Ellen.

“My spirit is so heavy for those _pequito niños!”_ April cried, cutting the teacher off and letting a few tears well up in her eyes for effect. She had to really sell it.

Ellen hummed. “That’s a great slideshow, April.”

The room erupted into lukewarm applause. April grinned and clutched her chest as if she were humbled. She was getting chosen for Fellowship Leader. She could just feel it. 

“Yes, friends,” Ellen continued, “okay, but we do need to move on. Listen, everybody, we had some excellent submissions for this year’s Fellowship Student Leader. But when—”

April couldn’t help herself. Nerves took over. 

“Bee tee dubs!” she exclaimed, unable to contain her outburst. “If y’all want to see more pictures of me being a Christian _leader,_ check out my Instagram hashtag, #AprilHelpsSickKidsThroughChrist.”

“Yes, oh yes, we will do that!” said Ellen, sharing an odd glance with the girl sitting next to her. “Okay, but like I was saying, guys, we had a lot of great candidates. But this year, I chose the individual who earnestly represents Jesus’ path on this earth, right?” 

Butterflies swelled in April’s stomach. This was obviously her! None of her classmates had bothered to make a slideshow detailing their godly acts of service.

“I mean, this young woman makes Christ proud every single day.”

Ezekiel and Hannah B. both shot knowing glances April’s way. She suppressed a squeal of delight and gripped Hannah B.’s hand to steel herself. Here it was, the moment she’d been waiting for since freshman year!

“So, when you guys are struggling, right? And you’re _struggling_ on your path with the Lord, I want you to look to her for guidance, okay?”

April felt like she was going to explode. She needed Ellen to come out with it already!

“This year’s Fellowship Student Leader is…”

Unable to stop herself, April shot up out of her seat. 

“...Sterling Wesley!”

Ellen’s words hit April like a hurricane. _Sterling fucking Wesley_ got chosen over her!? Her blood boiled. This was so unfair! She knew damn well that Sterling hadn’t knitted sweaters for sick babies or donated cookies to the homeless in the name of Christ. How could sweet, wonderful Ellen, who had known her since she was two years old, fall for Little Miss Perfect’s sickening spell? Forget Caesar and Brutus, _this_ was the single worst betrayal in all of human history.

“Recount!” hissed Ezekiel.

April realized she was still standing and slumped back down, defeated and wishing the ground would swallow her up. She regretted ever being born. 

Sterling stood up to accept the title and began attempting a speech. “Um, thank you so much. I wasn’t expecting this. What an honor. Um… I’m really looking forward to this responsibility of helping guide you guys on your faith journeys.”

An intense, prickly heat made itself apparent low in April’s stomach as she watched Sterling stumble her way through her speech. Unable to look at Sterling for even another second, she had to tear her eyes away. April hated her. She hated her stupid, perfect blonde hair and the “adorkable” facade hiding her inner nastiness. 

“Oh, um, I, lately I’ve been feeling God’s presence in my life more so than ever before, and yeah, I just feel Christ inside me,” Sterling continued.

April rolled her eyes. Disgusting. Sterling was publicly thinking about things going inside her, and yet she was still somehow chosen to lead Fellowship.

“But not like, inside me!” Sterling exclaimed hastily. “Like, um, not like ‘inside’ inside me. Like, just, um, you know what I mean, right?”

The bell rang, cutting the awkward girl’s speech short. Blair threw her hands up in the air and yelled her sister’s name, causing a round of applause. April refused to clap and made sure her two friends weren’t clapping either. The trio stormed out of the Fellowship room, knocking into anyone who stood in their way. 

Sterling Wesley had already managed to ruin all of junior year just by being herself. April couldn’t believe it. The only thing worse than what had just happened in the Fellowship room was how her father was sure to react once he found out she hadn’t been chosen. April felt sick at the thought. 

Neither Ezekiel nor Hannah B. had Spanish, her first class of the day, with her. Sulking, she entered the classroom and sat at the desk with her name on it. At least she got a front row seat. She turned around to look at the names behind her and realized she was going to be sitting directly in front of Sterling Wesley all year. April scowled. Why did God hate her?

April was always early to class, so no one else was around yet. She popped a piece of gum in her mouth and chewed it as fast as she could before lifting up Sterling’s name tag and sticking it to the desk with the wet pink goop.

Fuck Sterling Wesley!

***

Willingham allowed the students a break between their third and fourth classes of the day, so April and her squad decided to take advantage of the decent weather by sitting outside. Ezekiel checked Instagram as Hannah B. strummed her guitar. She had been so excited to show April and Ezekiel that she had learned how to play the quintessential acoustic song “Wonderwall” last night. April humored her. She really was quite good for someone who had just started learning over the summer.

Satan’s incarnate herself, Sterling Wesley, appeared in the distance with her twin minion Blair. That hot, prickly feeling returned at the sight of her and her stupidly long legs. How did she manage to look good even in the unflattering Willingham uniform pants? It was just another item in the long list of unfair things about her existence. 

April excused herself from her friends for a moment and approached the Wesleys, a smug, crooked smile plastered on her face. The Wesleys were forced to stop in their tracks and engage with her as she blocked the path. Neither one looked particularly amused to see her, but Blair’s face was full of downright disgust.

“Congratulations on Fellowship, Sterling,” said April.

“Thank you, April.”

“I really thought it was gonna be me,” she sighed, “but I’m glad it wasn’t because I’m going to be so busy with all my other extracurriculars…”

She named off a list of extracurriculars, some of which didn’t even actually exist. Who’d ever heard of a Straight-Straight Alliance? That was just something she and Ezekiel had made up to ward off gay rumors. It was surprisingly effective.

“I think the straights are already aligned,” remarked Blair before some brutish boy tackled her from behind.

“That’s really good for you, April,” said Sterling with what seemed like complete sincerity.

April grinned again. “Yeah, it is.”

Before Sterling could say anything else, Blair and the guy sucking her face knocked into her from the side. The contents of Sterling’s bag spilled all over the ground. Blair apologized hastily but made no move to help her sister pick up her belongings, opting instead to continue kissing that guy. (Jennings, was it? She was going to take a chance and say it was Jennings.) April cringed at the grotesque display of heterosexuality before her and bent down to help Sterling gather her stuff. Sure, she hated Sterling, but she didn’t want to seem _too_ jealous.

“Oh, thanks,” said Sterling.

“Yeah, you think I wouldn’t help a fellow…” April’s voice trailed off as her eyes fell on golden treasure.

Sterling Wesley was carrying a condom in her purse. A _condom!_ Upon further inspection, it was the open wrapper. Even better. April tried to hide her glee as she snatched it up off the ground. 

“...Christian?” she finished incredulously.

The look on Sterling’s face was priceless. April smirked. The day was slowly turning around. She bolted as soon as she saw Blair’s guy start to leave. 

“Wait, Jennings! I have Gym too!” she called out as she rushed to catch up with the long-haired boy. 

April couldn’t believe her phenomenal luck. There was no way Ellen would let someone having premarital sex remain Fellowship Leader, and here was the proof. The thought of Sterling spreading her legs for Luke Creswell made April dry heave a little. What a disgusting couple! Sterling probably made a stupid face when she came too. April could just imagine Sterling naked in bed, panting and flushed, eyes rolling back in her head as she moaned like an idiot. Her stomach did a somersault, probably out of sheer disgust. The thought played out a few more times in her mind, driving home just how horrible it was. She shuddered. If she didn’t stop, she’d lose her breakfast.

Maybe it was a little hypocritical that she, a lesbian comfortable in her sexuality and closeted only because of circumstance, was trying to get someone ousted from Fellowship for not abiding by the Biblical rules about sexual immorality. The irony was not lost on her. She did personally believe in a looser interpretation of the Biblical rules on sex, but becoming Fellowship Leader was of utmost importance. Now was not the time for sticking to her principles. This was an all-out war. 

The consequences at home for not being chosen would be dire. As she approached the school gym, April blinked away tears at the thought of her father’s inevitable explosion. The fact that she had lost to Sterling Wesley, of all people, would make it a thousand times worse too. Her father had never liked Sterling, especially not when they were inseparable back in fifth grade. April sighed. He’d find a way to make this her fault somehow.

She entered the locker room, saw Allie Montgomery, and immediately went to the farthest and most isolated corner of the entire place. April kept her eyes down, as she had absolutely no interest in talking to that girl. The last thing she needed was a confrontation about her little outburst over the summer.

This was not shaping up to be a very good start to junior year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVE MY TERRIBLE GIRL!
> 
> This chapter came pouring out of my brain so fast. Writing Mean April is basically the most fun thing ever.
> 
> Not sure exactly how long this will be yet, but it will probably end up longer than "Maybe Someday" if the trend among my outline continues to hold.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get a glimpse into April’s home life when she is forced to tell her father that she wasn’t chosen to be Fellowship Leader. She seethes in her room and ponders what she’ll do about Sterling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John Stevens is, of course, a big asshole this chapter...
> 
> Feel free to drop me a line on Tumblr @damnfinecoffee or Twitter @haiavella. I'm always down to talk about TBH!

April sat in the driveway of her house, afraid to go inside. Her hands felt sweaty on the leather steering wheel. She couldn’t stop looking at her father’s truck parked just up ahead. He was home early from the office, and he would inevitably ask about Fellowship as soon as he saw her. 

She wondered what she would say. If she told the simple truth, he might try to have Ellen punished somehow for “not making the right decision.” Elite private school parents held a lot of power, and since he wrote a fat donation check to Willingham every year, he held even more power than most. Although Ellen had betrayed her horrendously, she was still April’s favorite teacher. The last thing she wanted was for her to lose her job.

Another option would be to start up the crocodile tears as soon as he looked at her and blubber something about mean ol’ Sterling Wesley stealing her title and maybe getting Blair to stuff her in a locker for effect. That seemed like the better option, although neither one was great. At least Sterling probably deserved to be knocked down a peg. 

She closed her eyes and whispered a quick prayer, then entered the house. April opened the door as quietly as possible with the intent to sneak up to her room undetected. Maybe her father would be outside on the deck, enjoying the weather with a cold beer.

As her terrible luck would have it, he was sitting on one of the couches in the living room with his laptop instead. No one was going to let her catch a break today. Her blood ran cold at the sight of him. He looked up from his laptop and grinned. 

“Hey there. How’s my little Fellowship Leader?”

April put on her best attempt at puppy dog eyes and thought about how she had felt in second grade when Adele Meisner moved away. This was a nearly foolproof trick to bring a few tears to the surface. Her lip quivered as if she were eight years old again and truly heartbroken.

“Daddy… Sterling Wesley is so mean!” she sobbed. “She tricked Ellen into giving her my title, then got her trollish sister to stuff me in a locker while everyone laughed at my pain. I was in there for half an hour until Ezekiel and Hannah B. got me out. Then, I heard those awful Wesleys blasting Satanic death metal music in their car after school. It’s all just so unfair! True Christians like us are so persecuted in our sick society.”

She cringed on the inside as the words left her mouth, but nervousness made things difficult. Maybe she shouldn’t have added the part about the death metal music. The end result sounded kind of like the reverse of one of those obviously fake stories online in which everyone claps and gives the protagonist $100. 

Her father slammed his laptop shut and got up from the couch. She instinctively took a few steps away from him.

“Dammit, April!” he roared.

His fist connected with the nearest wall, startling April. She began to cry for real.

“I-I’m sorry, Daddy. I knew you would be upset.”

“‘Upset’ is putting it lightly. Team Stevens is supposed to win! You are such an embarrassment to this family. I don’t want to hear any excuses about Sterling Wesley doing this or that ever again.”

April wiped away her tears and refused to look at him. This was exactly what she had been dreading.

“This is your fault,” he continued. “You spent too much time this summer hanging around with that little soccer slut instead of serving the Lord. God knows, and I guess He told Ellen.”

He shook his head and began mumbling something under his breath about all female athletes being godless degenerates. April felt her insides twist. Her mother had come to see the commotion after her father punched a hole in the wall, but she lingered just outside of the room. April could only see half her face. Non-confrontational to a fault, May Stevens never seemed to defend her daughter when she needed it most.

“I can’t look at you right now,” he huffed. “I’m going to a meeting at the club tonight, and you’d better not be out of your room when I get back.”

He left, slamming the door on his way out.

Her mother sighed. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but it’s best to do as your father asks. Go to your room.”

April made her way over to the stairs just as her mother took a picture off the wall to put over the hole. She glanced down again halfway up the stairs and watched the older woman grab a bottle of pills from the counter. April wished that just once, her mother would say _something_ during one of his outbursts. As she walked to the safety of her room, Sgt. Bilko began to follow her. She scooped him up in her arms and pressed a kiss to the back of his head, then closed the door behind herself. Alone at last.

She opened her bag and pulled out her Physics textbook. Homework was a suitable distraction from her terrible day. Sgt. Bilko hopped up on April’s bed to watch her as she studied. April dried her eyes and smiled at the cat. That fluffy little guy was one of the only things keeping her sane.

“It’s not my fault I wasn’t chosen,” April said as she uncapped her favorite note-taking pen. “It’s Little Miss Perfect Sterling Wesley’s. She always gets everything she wants.”

Sgt. Bilko meowed as if he understood and agreed with what she was saying. April’s heart swelled with love for him.

“You’re a good boy, Bilko,” she gushed, blowing him a kiss. “I love you!”

The first few pages of April’s reading for Physics class went by just fine, but after a while, her mind started to wander. She couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that there was a gross condom wrapper in her bag. What if it got filthy sex germs all over her books? Sure, it wasn’t anywhere near as revolting as having the used condom itself—she gagged at the thought—but there was no telling where Sterling’s hands had been before she opened it. It could be riddled with herpes or something. April made a mental note to find a plastic bag for it.

She gritted her teeth. Whether Sterling was abandoning her on the playground or stealing her Fellowship Leader position, that girl just couldn’t stop ruining her life. 

Seething at the thought of Sterling’s stupid face, April continued to outline the first chapter of her Physics book with increasingly aggressive penstrokes. Just who did Sterling think she was, anyway? How could she just accept the Fellowship Leader position when the whole world (except, apparently, one Ms. Ellen Johnson) knew April deserved it so much more? And worst of all, how could she bring herself to have sexual relations with that amorphous blob she called a boyfriend? Detailed images of Sterling mid-orgasm flashed through April’s mind again. She imagined what Sterling’s soft moans might have sounded like and the way her bare chest might have heaved with each ragged breath as she tried to regain her composure. April dragged her pen across the page with such force, such _revulsion,_ that the paper ripped.

“Thanks again, Sterling,” she hissed under her breath as she flipped to a clean page.

While April worked on her Physics homework, a deep air of melancholy fell over her. No matter how angry she felt, she still wasn’t Fellowship Leader. Of course, there was always next year, but that was no help for her current predicament. She feared she’d never hear the end of her father’s disenchantment. The last time she had provoked the worst of his wrath was in sixth grade, when he’d caught her holding hands with Tessa Carter under the table at Burger Blitz. She still remembered how he had threatened to send her to a special boarding school if she didn’t stop embarrassing him in public with her “weird friendships.” He had also refused to spend any time with her for several weeks. This included going back on his promise to take her to see _The Force Awakens_ in theaters, which would have felt like the end of the world to eleven-year-old April if she hadn’t been preoccupied with the fact that Tessa switched to public school almost immediately after the incident and never spoke to her again.

Her life might have seemed perfect on the outside looking in, but it was really quite full of disappointment. Her successes were expected and never celebrated. When she had scored a 1550 on her SAT over the summer, her father demanded to know why she hadn’t scored a perfect 1600. The phrase “good job, April” might as well not have even existed in the English language. Thanks to the strict Evangelical standards of her local community, she would never get to attend a school dance with a crush, or go out on a date, or even just kiss a pretty girl somewhere in secrecy. Not that there were even any romantic prospects at Willingham. Someone would have to have a few screws loose to think it was a good idea to come out there!

And that was why it felt so unfair that stupid, perfect Sterling Wesley, of all people, had taken away the one thing that would have made April’s father proud of her. Sterling’s parents loved her and Blair unconditionally. April could still remember going over to the Wesleys’ house in elementary school and seeing the twins’ abstract crayon scribbles and B+ spelling tests displayed proudly on the refrigerator. Sterling got to be in a socially acceptable relationship for which she’d never be kicked out of her house. Mr. Wesley wouldn’t lose his mind if he saw Sterling and Luke holding hands at Burger Blitz. That horrible girl had never known the heartbreak that had become a constant in April’s life. She really got to have _everything,_ and April couldn’t stand it. 

A knock at her bedroom door pulled April out of her thoughts. She got up from her desk and opened the door. It was her mother. 

“Hi, Mom. Come in if you want. I’m just studying.”

Her mother entered the room and sat down on the bed next to Sgt. Bilko. She absentmindedly stroked his back. He looked up at her and meowed but didn’t purr. Sgt. Bilko only cared for April.

“I just wanted to let you know I’m going to go lie down for a nap, so you’ll be on your own for dinner tonight,” said April’s mother.

“Oh, okay,” replied April, trying her best to hide her disappointment. She was tired of cooking. “Thank you for telling me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that Fellowship didn’t work out for you, sweetie.”

April faked a smile. “There’s always next year, right?”

“Yes, but you know how your father is. I’ll have to call someone tomorrow to come fix that hole in the wall,” the older woman said with a sigh. “I’m sure you’ll be chosen next year if you keep doing the Lord’s work.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

April’s mother walked over to her and squeezed her shoulder. They were rarely affectionate—even less so as April got older—but sometimes it was nice to feel comforted at home. At least someone wasn’t upset with her for losing the Fellowship Leader title.

After her mother left the room, April thought she would turn her attention back to her homework, but her phone chimed. Ezekiel and Hannah B. were blowing up their group chat with asinine memes. Uninterested, April swiped the notifications away. She was overcome with the desire to check Instagram instead.

The first story in her list belonged to none other than Sterling. A jolt of what April assumed was anger traveled down her spine at the sight of Sterling’s profile picture. She tapped the story out of morbid curiosity.

Sterling appeared onscreen. It looked like she was in the passenger’s seat of a truck, maybe Mr. Wesley’s. She had changed out of her school clothes into a low-cut brown shirt. April frowned at the sight. Did she really need _even more_ attention?

“Hey, y’all, I am so excited to be your Fellowship Leader this year!” Sterling exclaimed with a sickeningly sweet smile. She gave the camera a thumbs up. “We’re all going to have a great time on our faith journeys.”

Unable to bear having to look at the neckline of Sterling’s shirt for even another second, April swiped away the Instagram story. Sterling was probably wearing that abomination for Luke, and that thought was going to make her lose her appetite. She was probably on her way to his house when she was filming that. April wasted no time blocking her nemesis, then slammed the phone down on her desk.

She decided it was best to make herself a bowl of pasta before her father got home, as he had explicitly said he didn’t want to see her out of her room. As April waited for the water to boil, she pondered the Sterling problem. There had to be some way to get back at her. The condom wrapper was a golden ticket to Revenge Town. If she slipped it into Luke’s bag somehow and he noticed it, he’d probably be dimwitted enough to take it out and wave it around. She could also turn to the rumor mill. There was nothing the students of Willingham loved more than a juicy rumor. But would they really believe that their pure-as-driven-snow Fellowship Leader had had sex _and_ used a condom? April was unsure. Fortune seemed to favor Sterling Wesley way too much. 

April sat at the kitchen table with Sgt. Bilko hoping for scraps at her feet as she ate her sad dinner. So much for a bright start to the school year. She’d have to put her 4.0 GPA brain to the test and figure out a solution to her Sterling-induced woes. 

After she had finished eating and cleaning up the kitchen, April went back up to her room. She finished her problem set for Pre-Calculus and noticed that it was past 8:30 p.m. Usually, her father got home from his Men’s Parlor meetings at 8, but she hadn’t heard him come in. That was odd.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April and Sterling have a tense encounter in the parking lot hours before John's arrest. Later, an embarrassed April devises a way to get the negative attention off of her family.

The past several days had been tense in the Stevens household. April had been told that her father left to go on a golf retreat after his Men’s Parlor meeting, citing the need to “clear his head.” Although April kind of enjoyed not having him at home, her mother seemed more stressed out than usual. April didn’t expect her to let her know what was going on in any capacity, but part of her wished he’d stay at the lake house forever. She felt a little bit guilty for thinking that way. After all, as a Christian, wasn’t she supposed to honor her father and mother? But… surely God understood that living with John Stevens was _beyond_ stressful. She hoped He wouldn’t smite her for feeling some degree of relief.

School was, as always, a welcome distraction. At least April could put all of her focus onto earning a spot in the Harvard Class of 2026. Her future was what mattered. Years of suffering would be vindicated when she finally opened an Ivy League acceptance letter.

Her only complaint was Fellowship. Sterling Wesley’s stupid face was sucking all the fun out of the activity and making it really difficult for April to focus on God. She started to dread going to Fellowship because she hated seeing Sterling at the center of the room, looking grotesquely perfect as she read daily devotionals. April knew she should’ve been the one up there instead, and the fact that she wasn’t was just so unfair! The mere sight of Sterling made April’s body grow hot all over with resentment. 

One Friday, April decided to take some much-needed time off from worrying about everything currently going wrong in her life to hang out with Ezekiel and Hannah B. They had gotten a snack at Chick-fil-A, and currently stood in the parking lot, embroiled in a heated discussion about why they always ended up there as a group.

“Why do you always want to eat at Chick-fil-A?” asked Ezekiel. “Aren’t you always calling all chickens your ‘bird children’ and wanting to have your own chicken sanctuary someday?”

“Well, you and April always say yes to it even though y’all are gay,” Hannah B. shot back defensively. 

“It’s about the sauces!” April insisted, crossing her arms. 

“Yeah, Hannah B., it’s about the sauces! Where else am I gonna get that smoky honey mustard goodness?”

“Can’t I think it’s about the sauces too?”

“You’re _literally_ eating your bird children.”

Hannah B. frowned. “I don’t have any yet!”

Ezekiel flashed a self-satisfied grin, looked directly at April, and said, “Maybe I shouldn’t give you such a hard time. April loves her cat son, Sgt. Bilko, but I’m sure that won’t stop her from—”

“Finish that sentence, Ezekiel. I dare you,” April hissed.

Ezekiel smirked and made no further comment.

“I don’t understand,” said an innocent Hannah B. “April, why would you ever eat a cat?”

April blushed and looked away while Ezekiel howled with laughter. She took a sip of her sweet tea and leaned back against the hood of Hannah B.’s car. There _was_ something hilarious about the three of them frequenting the chicken restaurant involved in so many homophobic scandals, but April was not ready to give up that Chick-fil-A sauce. But she was glad that after years of holding everything inside, she had decided to come out to her friends after her little freakout over the summer. Ezekiel had obviously been supportive, and Hannah B. had pleasantly surprised her as well. Now they could make jokes, even though she kind of wanted to punch Ezekiel at the moment. 

Her light mood immediately crashed and burned when a familiar duo appeared in the distance. It was the Wesleys, _and_ they were headed in her direction. April bit down hard on the end of her straw.

“Hey, April!” said Sterling, her voice like nails on a chalkboard. “We need to talk to you.”

“The pressures of Fellowship too much already?” April asked with a condescending smile. “I wish I could help.”

Sterling giggled. “Oh, bless your heart.”

Who the fuck did this girl think she was? April exchanged glances with Hannah B.

“Um, no,” Sterling continued, “we met with your Daddy this week, and he so graciously offered to sponsor our trip to the soup kitchen.”

Her father was on a golf retreat, but even if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t give the Wesleys the time of day. Sterling was apparently in the business of just making up nonsense now!

“What a sweet man!” interjected Blair.

She’d happily trade fathers, if Blair were so inclined.

“Yeah, the problem is that the funding is due tomorrow, and we can't seem to find him. Do you know where he is?”

April frowned. “You met with him earlier this week?

“Yeah, Monday. Lovely office!” exclaimed Sterling.

“Gorgeous interior design!” agreed Blair.

“That’s funny, because he took his helicopter to Hilton Head for a golf retreat ten days ago.”

“Oooh!” gasped Ezekiel as he wiped his greasy Chick-fil-A fingerprints off of his phone.

“What?” whispered Hannah B.

“I’ll explain later.”

Sterling corrected herself hastily. “Oh, sorry, did I say this past Monday? I meant the Monday before that.”

April rolled her eyes and handed her half-empty cup to Hannah B. If they had _really_ tried to meet with him, they’d know he didn’t allow women in his office.

Sterling began to get visibly nervous. “It’s been a really long day, and yeah, my brain’s like, melted into a puddle...”

Looking tough was hard at 5’2”, but April was determined to try as she stepped into Sterling’s personal space. She grabbed the taller girl’s wrist and pulled her aside as Blair followed. Notes of Sterling’s pleasantly floral perfume caught April off guard for a moment, but she didn’t let it show. 

April shot them both an icy glare and said, “I don’t know what you little tramps think you’re up to, but I know you’re lying. You do not want to mess with me, _honey._ ”

Blair opened her mouth to speak, but Sterling cut her off by replying, “Just need the money to continue to spread Christ’s love. No need to get worked up about it.”

April had never been quite this sick of someone’s bullshit before!

“Stay away from my family,” she snapped.

Defeated, Sterling turned away to face Ezekiel and Hannah B. and said, “Have a blessed night.”

Too nice for her own good, Hannah B. responded, “Aww, you too, sweetie!”

“Read the room, Hannah B.,” Ezekiel mumbled. “For the love of God, read the room.”

The Wesleys started to walk away, but April needed to get in one more blow. Sterling had so thoroughly pissed her off by coming to the shopping plaza parking lot and ruining her nice time with her friends that she was going to throw caution to the wind and use her golden ticket.

“Hey, Sterl?” she called, using the nickname she had given Sterling when they were younger for shock value.

Sterling stopped in her tracks and turned around. April strode over to her, bag in hand, and prepared for the kill strike.

“I wonder what Ellen would say if she knew that while I was home making care packages for homeless teens, her star Fellowship Leader was spreading her legs for Luke Creswell in the senior lot.”

Never breaking eye contact with Sterling, April reached into her bag and brandished the little purple square of chaos. She held just the very end of one of the corners, as she didn’t want to touch the disgusting item too much. Unfortunately, she had forgotten to find a plastic bag for it. 

“Gosh, what would the whole school say?” she continued with a chilling smile.

Blair attempted to snatch the condom wrapper out of her hand, but April dodged her just in time. April put it back in her bag and glanced over at Sterling, who looked crushed that she’d stoop so low. Sterling’s big blue eyes watered as Blair slipped an arm around her and began to lead her away.

“Hoarder,” Blair spat as the twins retreated. 

April turned back towards her friends, feeling drunk on the power she held over Sterling now. That nasty artifact was working just as she’d hoped. She could control Sterling’s every move and make her beg. For some reason, the thought of Sterling begging her for something was oddly exciting. April had so much power. Maybe she could even get her to step down as Fellowship Leader. The possibilities were endless! 

Ezekiel gave her an odd look and asked, “What was _that?”_

April shrugged. “I was just showing those Wesleys who’s really in charge around here.”

“Uh-huh. Okay. From over here, it looked like you were all up in Miss Sterling’s personal bubble.”

Eyes wide, Hannah B. put her hand over her mouth in shock. A horrified April shook her head from side to side to clear out the images of whatever Ezekiel was insinuating. 

“I absolutely do not want to be in Sterling Wesley’s personal anything!” scoffed April.

Ezekiel folded his arms and pursed his lips. 

“Well, I know spicy tension when I see it,” he mumbled.

First the Sgt. Bilko comment and now this? April glared at her friend. She was not pleased to be the butt of _every single joke_ today. Ezekiel was supposed to know by now that April was only into smart, talented, and pretty girls, like Taylor Swift or the tall, blonde soccer star who had broken her heart over the summer. They were nothing like Sterling! Nothing at all. (Okay, so maybe they were all blonde, but April insisted that was the only similarity!) This was every bit as offensive and horrible as it would be for him if she insinuated he liked Franklin from the golf team. If Ezekiel couldn’t tell the obvious and huge difference between “spicy tension” and putting a foolish nemesis in their place, he was simply going to have a bad time in the real world. She would never in a million years want Sterling Wesley. Never ever. 

How dare he even say such a thing?

***

When April walked through the front door of her house that evening, she found her mother crying in the living room with a huge glass of red wine in hand. The air was thick with unease. Something bad had happened, undoubtedly, but April wasn’t sure what it could be. She scooped up Sgt. Bilko, who had been waiting by the door, and nervously approached her mother.

“Hey, Mom, what’s the matter?”

“Your father has been arrested!” sobbed the older woman.

April had no idea how to react to that. She set the cat down on the floor and took a seat next to her mother. Her heart started pounding. What on Earth had he done to get _arrested?_

“For what?” 

“He cheated on me with a fucking prostitute and then assaulted her,” April’s mother explained before taking a long sip of her wine. “Someone filmed the entire thing.”

Although she knew her father wasn’t a great man, hearing that he had done something on that level still came as a shock. How could someone who prided himself on his Christianity commit adultery? The man broke one of the Ten Commandments! He constantly railed against what he considered sexual immorality, saying that “the gays” were going to turn America into Sodom and Gomorrah. He dared to say that people like her getting married would destroy the sanctity of marriage, yet he was apparently comfortable cheating on his wife of twenty years. What a disgusting hypocrite.

April didn’t realize the hot tears of rage welling up in her eyes until her mother put a stiff arm around her and awkwardly pulled her in. She couldn’t remember the last time they had been this close. The strong stench of alcohol made her scrunch up her nose.

“Oh, don’t cry, sweetie. I know you love your Daddy. He has a good lawyer, and we might be able to work it out in couples therapy.”

She rested her head on her mother’s shoulder and let her continue to think the tears were born out of sadness for John rather than anger. (April wasn’t sure whether he still deserved any fatherly titles.) 

All she said was, “This is a lot to process.”

It was technically true.

Her mother’s words echoed in her mind. The more April thought about it, the less she understood why she would even _want_ to “work it out in couples therapy.” Maybe it was all for the image, but that didn’t really hold up to scrutiny. While divorce was frowned upon in their community, it didn’t carry quite as heavy of a stigma as cheating did. 

“If you’d like to miss school on Monday, that’s fine with me,” said her mother.

Scandal spread like wildfire in their community, so the thought of facing the Willingham rumor mill actually made truancy seem like an attractive option. April cringed at the thought of dozens of kids whispering behind her back. She’d consider it.

“I’m going to go up to my room now, if that’s okay.”

“Of course, sweetie. Go get some rest.”

Feeling hollow, April went up to her room and collapsed on the bed with Sgt. Bilko. Her head spun with too many thoughts to process. All she wanted to do was forget everything she had just learned from her mother. 

Her phone chimed. April dreaded receiving any messages since news of the scandal had probably spread to half of their neighborhood already, but she grabbed her phone anyway. It was Hannah B.

**From: Hannah 🐝 (8:42 p.m.)**

_soooo sry to hear about ur dad!!!_

**From: April Stevens (8:43 p.m.)**

_Thank you._

**From: Hannah 🐝 (8:43 p.m.)**

_if u want to come over tomorrow afternoon u can_

**From: April Stevens (8:44 p.m.)**

_Okay, I might take you up on that._

“Bilko, this sucks,” she sighed, putting her hands over her face. “Everyone is about to find out that my dad is a terrible person. There are going to be _so many_ rumors.”

“Meow.”

“Do you think it’s wrong that I’m a bit glad he’s out of the house, though?”

The cat purred and nuzzled her arm, signaling that he apparently did not think it was wrong to be glad that John was gone. April had always suspected that Sgt. Bilko didn’t like her father too much. He left way too many hairballs in the man’s shoes. 

April didn’t know what she would do if and when John came home. She could hardly look him in the eye as things were, but his crimes added whole new layers. “Team Stevens” clearly didn’t mean much to him. 

An unwelcome thought entered April’s mind: _Something like this would never happen to Sterling Wesley._ Although it was true, it was an odd thing to think about at that moment. It was just another line item in the long list of unfair ways that Sterling had it better than her. April’s heart sank at the realization that she’d never get to be Fellowship Leader now with such a wild scandal attached to her family’s name. Even next year, Ellen would never choose the girl whose father had committed adultery with a prostitute and then beaten her! The optics would be terrible, and that would only make John angrier if he returned home. April would give anything for a distraction at this point. Maybe she could increase her volunteering hours or find some other club at school to forcibly take over. She had always had a flair for the dramatic. Maybe could weasel her way into becoming President of the Drama Club.

She made a mental note to hit the gym in the morning before she went over to Hannah B.’s house. Lifting always got her endorphins flowing and helped her feel better. Like Elle Woods once famously said, endorphins make you happy, and happy people just don’t shoot their husbands… or in April’s case, their shitty fathers. 

***

April was one of the first people at her local gym the next morning when it opened. She liked to go at odd times because whenever she had tried to go at peak hours, creepy men who didn’t even seem to care that she was sixteen years old hit on her. Fortunately, few people ever bothered to show up on Saturdays at 7:00 a.m.

With the exception of one person on the treadmill, the gym was empty. Her mind wandered as she made her way over to the weights area and picked up a set of dumbbells. Was there anything she could do to improve her situation? So far, it seemed like the answer was no.

Three women walked in several minutes into April’s workout. April recognized them as the Keller sisters from church but had never really interacted with them because they ranged from ten to fifteen years older than her. The youngest glanced directly at her and whispered something to her sisters. These grown women were talking about her family! She knew there would be gossip at school, but April was a bit surprised to see adults already engaging too. The realization that she wouldn’t be able to go anywhere within a five-mile radius of her house until the rumor mill moved on to something else hit her hard. Part of her wanted to just get her bag and leave, but that would be letting John win. 

April strained against the weights, giving 110% to her workout. There had to be something she could do. It might be months until the next big scandal rocked the community, and she couldn’t bear months more of this. It had been less than a day, and she was already fed up. 

Her mind flashed back to the condom wrapper hidden at the bottom of her bag. She _could_ help bring about the next big scandal. The sad truth was that no one would even think about John’s crimes anymore if she could get them to believe her about the most wholesome girl at Willingham having pre-marital sex. 

Brimming with the adrenaline rush of a good workout, April set down her weights. She loved that post-workout mental clarity. It wasn’t very polite, but she knew just what she needed to do as soon as she went back to school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, my little devil child doing what she does best...
> 
> I decided to write this story with April already "secretly" out to her friends based on the fact that there's a deleted scene in which Ezekiel talks to Sterling about the relationship. (Eric and Maddie have both referenced this a couple of times, although sadly there does not seem to be a cut of it anywhere.) It also does a good job, in my opinion, of explaining away the (fictitious, in this interpretation) Straight-Straight Alliance. She and Ezekiel made it all up!
> 
> Also, I really, really wanted to make that Sgt. Bilko joke, so just humor me, okay?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April has a terrible dream that makes her decide it's time to take action on her plan to blackmail Sterling into stepping down as Fellowship Leader. When she gets home, she receives a letter from her father that only makes her angrier.

April sat bolt upright in bed, heart pounding as she tried to make sense of the scenario her brain had just inflicted upon her. She glanced around and took some comfort in the fact that she was alone in her own room rather than in a filthy school utility closet with someone whose name she couldn’t even bring herself to think.

Stress was obviously getting to her. 

Her mind flashed back to what had happened just a few moments prior. The sensation of Sterling’s fingers dancing along her bare skin had been nothing short of divine to Dream April, but the real one felt only disgust. Without question, this was the single worst nightmare she’d ever had. It was even worse than her long-recurring nightmare that she would die and wake up in Hell with her father as the Devil. Her palms, forehead, and neck were soaked with sweat, and she was pretty sure her thighs were too.

She rolled over and checked the time. Perhaps worst of all, she only had seven minutes left until her alarm went off. April scowled as she realized a certain horrible blonde had stolen seven whole minutes of much-needed sleep from her. 

At least Sterling Wesley was finally going to get what she deserved at Fellowship.

April got ready for school, fed Sgt. Bilko, and made exactly what she wanted for breakfast. Mornings were quiet and almost relaxing without John. She sipped her coffee and leisurely scrolled through TikTok. No one was around to criticize her food, scream at the cat for existing, or start ranting about whatever “sinful degenerates” dominated the morning headlines. 

She had skipped school yesterday, the Monday after her father’s arrest, because the thought of walking into Willingham amidst all the gossip was too much to bear. The weekend had been tense enough. Not only had she encountered those women from church at the gym, but April also hated the pitying way Hannah B.’s mother had looked at her during dinner on Saturday. She was nervous for her first day back at school since John’s arrest, but with any luck, Willingham would be buzzing with gossip about something different very, very soon.

With a wicked grin, she pulled a plastic bag out of one of the kitchen cabinets and put the condom wrapper inside before heading off to school.

April's stomach did a flip when she pulled into the school parking lot. Going to school post-scandal had seemed so abstract until she actually saw the building looming in the distance. People were going to whisper, but at least she had her friends. 

She did, however, dread the thought of going to Fellowship. She would have to see _Sterling,_ and that was horrifying, especially after April’s nightmare. The memory, forever seared into her mind, made April cross her legs tightly. She still couldn’t believe her own brain had tortured her in such a manner.

Although she didn’t like being late, April decided she would wait until Fellowship was almost over before making her grand entrance. Breaking her golden rule of punctuality just this once was better than revisiting… that.

Her phone lit up with a message from Hannah B.

**From: Hannah 🐝 (7:42 a.m)**

_thought u were coming to school today_

**From: April Stevens (7:43 a.m.)**

_I am. I’m just running a few minutes late._

**From: Hannah 🐝 (7:43 a.m)**

_oh ok see u soon!!!_

Ten minutes later, April strutted into the school like nothing had happened. She was going to shut down any gossip about her family and make Sterling pay for her transgressions. At least school would be business as usual soon, even if the rest of her life had been upended.

The door to the Fellowship room was open, and April could see her classmates forming a prayer circle with Sterling as the leader. It took every ounce of self-control in April’s tiny body to not scowl at the sight of _her._

“...like April, no matter when she comes back, if at all ever. Bless her wherever the winds may take her,” prayed Sterling. 

April hadn’t heard the first part of the prayer, but she knew she didn’t like the tone of Sterling’s voice. 

“Touching,” said April, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

All of Fellowship turned to look at her. She made eye contact with Ezekiel and grinned, then made her way into the room she knew she’d own by the end of the week. 

“April!” Sterling gasped. “I-I, uh, guess those blessed winds brought you back. What are you doing here?”

Was it not obvious? 

“I had a stomach bug,” she lied, “which is why I must look thinner than usual.”

“Yeah, I see it!” exclaimed Hannah B.

“Turn to the side, and you’re gone,” agreed Ezekiel.

“And.. I heard there was weird talk about my dad, but he left for a long work trip to Tokyo, so I don’t know where that was coming from,” April said with a frown.

Blair pulled a face that made April wish she could punch it. The Wesley twins turned towards each other and shared a weirdly long and intense moment of eye contact, cementing April’s long-held belief that they had been conjoined at birth.

Sterling turned back to face April and said, “The weather in Asia’s supposed to be really great.”

Right, because all of Asia shared the same weather. April tried her best not to laugh, opting instead for a pitying look. She had no idea how on Earth someone like Sterling was ranked fourth in their class. The fact that this girl was Fellowship Leader instead of her was downright insulting.

The bell rang to signal the start of the day’s first class. Students began filtering out of the Fellowship room and into the hall, leaving April alone with her hated nemesis. 

“I’m really glad that you’re feeling better, April,” said Sterling with a soft smile.

“Don’t pretend like you care,” April scoffed. “There’s not a genuine bone in your body… Unless you’re counting Luke’s!”

She reached into her bag and once again retrieved the purple square that held way too much power, glad to have remembered a plastic bag for it.

“Are you preserving that?” asked Sterling.

April shot her a disgusted look. Obviously, Sterling was too dull to understand that normal people didn’t want to touch her filthy sex germs, but what more could one expect from a girl who would sleep with Luke Creswell?

“I’m not gonna let this thing roll around in my bag and riddle it with herpes!”

“What do you want?” sighed Sterling.

“What I’ve always wanted— your position. So, resign as Fellowship Leader by Friday, or this puppy goes wide.”

She put the condom wrapper back in her bag while Sterling stood there and watched uselessly. Typical. As April hurried off to class, she glanced over her shoulder one last time to see her nemesis fuming at her awesome blackmail attempt. Flaunting her power to crush Sterling ignited an intense heat deep within April. She felt _alive_ as she took her seat in World History class— thankfully, she didn’t have Spanish on Tuesdays— and tried her best to forget how sweet Sterling smelled.

***

“I’m going to be back on top of the Fellowship food chain by the end of the week,” April bragged to her friends as they sat down at their usual table for lunch.

“Mmm, and how did you manage that?” asked Ezekiel as he opened up his salad container.

“Oh, it was incredible. I went up to Sterling after Fellowship and told her she has until the end of the week to resign, or else I’ll tell everyone that she slept with her boyfriend! Her dull, vapid face was priceless. I bet it was the first time anyone has ever stood up to her.”

April pretended not to notice as her friends exchanged questioning glances. 

“Whoa, girl, how do you know that Sterling and Luke did it?” asked Ezekiel, his eyes wide with sudden interest.

“I have top secret sources, and trust me, it is 100% indisputable fact that they’ve… _Biblically known each other_.”

“I don’t know. That sounds kinda fake,” said Hannah B. “I don’t think Sterling and Luke even know how to have sex because we don’t get the talk until senior year, remember?”

April shook her head at poor Hannah B.’s ignorance. Someone was going to have to give that girl a real version of the talk. Ezekiel snorted. She didn’t know whether he was mocking her announcement or at what Hannah B. had said, but for her own sanity, she chose to believe it was the latter.

“Sterluke is like, the most wholesome and pure couple at this entire school,” scoffed Ezekiel. “I’m sorry, April. I know you wanna be Fellowship Leader, and I support you, but I just can’t believe that.”

“That’s just what she wants you to believe!” insisted April.

“Well, I still can’t see it, but I assume you have a plan to take her down,” he replied.

“Yes, I do have a _foolproof_ plan. I’ll set the public record about my dad straight this week, so Ellen will think he’s in Tokyo. When Sterling resigns, I’ll swoop in and claim my rightful position,” April explained. “I can’t believe how fake she is, acting like she’s some bastion of purity when she’s done something as utterly revolting as spreading those long, shapely legs for Luke Creswell. I’m going to develop a stomach bug for real if I think about her underneath him for too long.”

Ezekiel stifled a laugh and nearly choked on his water. April glared daggers at him. There was nothing funny at all about what she had just said.

“April, you’re thinking about this too much,” said Hannah B. “It’s good to relax sometimes!”

“I never think about this at all, actually, because it's a horrifying thought,” insisted April. “Can you even imagine the two of them having sex? I bet she makes the worst faces. If anything, I feel bad for that poor, dumb boy.”

“Someone sounds jealous,” Ezekiel mumbled under his breath.

“I am not jealous, Ezekiel! She’s disgusting and horrible and weird,” April hissed, then lowered her voice and added, “and I’d bet John’s helicopter that she’s a raging homophobe anyway.”

“Okay, whatever you say, girl. But you’re devoting _a lot_ of mental energy to this, and no one is gonna believe that they’ve boned.”

“Can I ask a question?” inquired Hannah B. as she timidly played with the edge of her napkin.

“What?” barked April, fed up with her friends’ lack of support.

“What will you do if she doesn’t let you be Fellowship Leader?”

“Well, that won’t happen, because fake Little Miss Perfect Sterling won’t let anything ruin her pristine image,” insisted April as if she was presenting the most obvious solution in the world. “But if it did, for some reason, I would simply show everyone my top secret evidence.”

Ezekiel rolled his eyes. “Okay, well, I hope it all works out for you.”

“Me too!” said Hannah B. “It would be so much fun to plan the lock-in. We could watch _Davey and Goliath’s Snowboard Christmas!”_

“No, we’d watch _Prince of Egypt_ instead,” said Ezekiel. “Have you not seen that cartoon Moses’ deliciously bronze calves?”

Hannah B. wrinkled her nose. “That wouldn’t get April to pick your movie.”

“She’d let me have this as a favor!”

Their discussion quickly devolved into a heated argument about which movie they would ask to watch if April became Fellowship Leader. April tuned them out and picked at her bland school food. How could a rich private school serving the children of suburban Atlanta’s elite have such unappetizing lunches?

She spotted a few random kids looking at her and offered her best “fuck-off” glare in return. If only her fake Tokyo story had travelled as fast as the real thing…

The repugnant Wesley twins entered the outdoor lunch area and took a seat several tables away from April and her squad. April’s blood boiled at the sight of them. She stabbed a piece of limp lettuce with her fork, wishing it was one of their faces. The weak, biodegradable plastic snapped under the amount of sheer force. She was disappointed but not surprised that her friends didn’t believe her about Sterling. No one was immune to Sterling’s insidious mind games except, apparently, April herself. It didn’t matter, though, because come Friday, they’d all see her for the fake she truly was!

***

When April got home that afternoon, she realized her mother had forgotten to bring in the mail. She flipped through the stack as she walked into the house. Most of it was bills and correspondence from the lawyer’s office, but one letter was addressed to her. Upon further inspection, it had come from the jail where her father was awaiting trial. She felt a little sick at the sight of it but decided to open the letter anyway.

> _Dear Padawan,_
> 
> _I am still disappointed in you, but I hope you’ve been staying on the path of God’s light in spite of your recent failures. Do not embarrass Team Stevens any further._
> 
> _I’ve hired the best lawyer in Atlanta, so I’m confident that I’ll see you and your mother soon. There’s a lot I want to explain when I get out. Just know that none of what happened is my fault, and we can be a family again soon._
> 
> _Please pray for me. It’s Sodom and Gomorrah in here with all these degenerates._
> 
> _Love,_ _  
> __Daddy_

April stared at the letter with absolute contempt. She couldn’t believe the audacity of this man, talking about _her_ failures in his current situation, like not becoming Fellowship Leader was anywhere near the level of adultery and assault! And to claim none of what happened was his fault? Typical John. 

Her eyes fell on the cabinet where the “World’s Greatest Daddy” mug lived. She strained to reach it but managed to pull it out of the cabinet. April held it in her hands for a moment, thinking about the fact that she’d had to serve that lazy piece of shit his coffee every morning since she was ten. Impulsively, she hurled it at the kitchen floor. Watching it shatter into a dozen pieces was nothing short of cathartic.

“April, was that you?” her mother called from the living room.

“Uh, yes, Mom. I was going to make some tea and dropped the mug,” she called back. “They’re hard to reach.”

“Oh, well, sweep it up, then.”

April crumpled up the letter on the way up to her room, stopping in the spare bathroom to toss it into Sgt. Bilko’s litter box for the cat to piss on. She resolved to never open another again, no matter how many he sent. 

Fuck John. He deserved nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An interesting new rumor at school puts a wrench in April's plans to get Sterling to resign from her position.

Something seemed off about the other students when April made her way back onto campus after sneaking away to have lunch in the solitude of her car. They stood around in groups, even more glued to their phones than usual and speaking in hushed whispers. Her heart sank. They were all talking about her family. She just _knew_ it. They had to be, didn’t they? She couldn’t imagine what else would be so compelling. 

Maybe giving Sterling until the end of the week had been a mistake. April mentally kicked herself for not pouncing while she had the chance. She should’ve shown that horrible, fake Fellowship Leader no mercy! 

She kept her head held high as she continued her walk. It seemed like a good idea to start telling people about the condom wrapper anyway, despite what she had said to Sterling. Her eyes fell upon Ezekiel and Hannah B. sitting at a table in the outdoor lunch area. April’s face lit up. They were going to have the privilege of being the first to know.

April opened her mouth to speak, but neither one of her friends paid any attention to her. They too were engrossed in their phones. 

“What’s going on?” April demanded, causing her two friends to finally look up.

“You haven’t heard?” gasped Ezekiel. “Tammy DeWitt found a love glove in Woodshop!”

“No, it was Horny Lorna in Gym, and it wasn’t just one,” insisted Hannah B. “It was a _box_.”

April silently thanked God that she hadn’t been around when Ezekiel had undoubtedly been the one to explain to Hannah B. what condoms were. That was a conversation she couldn’t imagine being forced to bear witness to. The mere thought made her shudder.

“This is the weirdest game of Clue ever,” said April as she glanced around the area. “I don’t understand.”

She was relieved beyond words that the school was not, in fact, discussing her family falling apart. But… why were they all talking about condoms? That was weird! How many simultaneous condom scandals could there be at a single Christian high school in suburban Atlanta? As far as she was aware, nobody else knew about Sterling and Luke. 

April looked around again and locked eyes with none other than her ultimate nemesis. Sterling’s stupid head aligned perfectly with the school logo on the wall behind her, forming a halo. Sunlight filtering into the lunch area illuminated her golden hair and the smug grin on her face. April gritted her teeth at the picture of faux perfection in front of her. Disgusting. The imagery was too much. Why, she had half a mind to just shove Sterling up against the wall and knock that halo right off her head!

“April, are you okay?” asked a concerned Hannah B. “You’re breathing really hard.”

“I’m… praying. I’m praying that whoever among our classmates was depraved enough to have sex at _school_ finds salvation,” April insisted, hoping she was loud enough for Sterling to overhear.

“This place needs a deep clean,” said Ezekiel with a shudder.

Shaken, April took a seat at the table with her friends. Her mind raced a hundred miles an hour, attempting to piece together why the school was suddenly filled with condom talk. It was _possible_ that someone else had found out about Sterling and Luke, but she felt it was unlikely. She had taken the evidence, and not even Ezekiel would believe her about Willingham’s purest couple having sex. Unless, of course, they had done it again. They were obviously both dumb enough to leave the evidence behind, after all. That had to be it. Those two fakes couldn’t keep their nauseating horniness to themselves for long enough to make it off of school grounds! April’s lunch threatened to make a reappearance. 

“I can’t believe there are people at this school who actually have _sex_ ,” whispered Hannah B.

“What are you talking about, girl? Of course people at this school have sex!” exclaimed Ezekiel. “I know you just learned what a condom was ten minutes ago, but what did you think Horny Lorna’s name meant?”

“I thought Horny was, like, a family name.”

April sighed. “I don’t know why you’re surprised. I tried to tell you both about our demonic Fellowship Leader and her dimwitted boy toy, but no one would listen to me.”

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. April had Classic Literature next, and thankfully, that class wasn’t infested with Sterling. She didn’t think she could bear having to look at her any longer. Unfortunately, Sterling did have US History, which happened to be in the classroom right next to hers. April forcefully bumped into Sterling’s side as they walked down the hall.

“Didn’t learn your lesson, hmm?” she whispered. 

Sterling flashed an innocent smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, April.”

April seethed as Sterling disappeared into her classroom. How dare she play dumb? She was, and forever would be, the prime suspect for all condom-related mysteries at the school. April took her seat. Her shoulder still felt hot where she bumped into Sterling's side. This must be what physical contact with Satan felt like.

***

The next day crept by. All anyone wanted to talk about was the condom rumor, but that didn’t interest April because she already knew whose it was. Poor April had to keep so many things to herself already, and now she couldn’t even share the juiciest piece of gossip ever to circulate around the school because no one would believe her. Even her own friends had let her down, and it was all Sterling’s fault. The way the rumor mill always passed her by just wasn’t fair. April had spent years honing her abilities to shut down rumors about herself; that was literally why she and Ezekiel made up the Straight-Straight Alliance. Sterling’s natural ability to dodge it all made her blood boil.

Fellowship was at the end of the school day on Wednesdays. April dreaded going. A lump formed in her throat as she realized she had only two classes left after lunch. The last thing she wanted was to have to look at Sterling in the position that she deserved so much more. She had considered quitting Fellowship altogether to get away from those awful Wesleys, but that would hurt sweet, adorkable Ellen’s feelings. Plus, she had no idea how long her father would be imprisoned. 

She and her squad sat at their usual table in the outdoor lunch area. April was barely listening to whatever story Hannah B. was going on about. Instead, she stared daggers at her hated blonde nemesis as she forced herself to eat her bland school food. 

Sterling sat alone a few tables away, putting some sort of pink lipstick on her gross mouth. April shuddered at the thought of Sterling’s lips. That Fellowship Faker was obviously just trying to make herself presentable to go do more degenerate things with Luke before the next bell rang. April just _knew_ it. 

No amount of glances in the hallway or carefully constructed conversations in Spanish class had pushed Sterling any closer to coming clean about the condom. It was Thursday now, and she only had one more day until the deadline. 

“I should never have underestimated her fortitude,” she seethed. “In third grade, she held a burp all through Easter Worship.”

Ezekiel looked disgusted while soft confusion spread across Hannah B.’s face. 

“What do you mean her ‘fortitude?’” asked Hannah B.

“Oh, like, the rumor mill completely passed her by,” April explained. Sometimes she forgot to use small words with Hannah B. “Even though every other person got hit with shrapnel…”

Back in eighth grade, April had experienced her own near-lethal brush with the rumor mill. Marissa Swanson had deemed her “weird and clingy” because she got jealous too easily and started a rumor that she had tried to kiss her. This was totally not true, even though April had really _wanted_ to kiss her. (She would’ve been way too afraid to try kissing a girl back then, and if she was being truthful, she was still pretty afraid.) Ezekiel had also been dealing with his own gay rumors for ages, although neither was out to anyone at the time, so that was the day the Straight-Straight Alliance was formed. 

“Yeah, the last one I heard was that we found the condom and used it!” exclaimed Hannah B., gesturing to Ezekiel. “I mean, can you even imagine?”

Ezekiel giggled uncomfortably for a moment, then said, “I’d rather not, so...”

If either of them elaborated on that cringeworthy mental image, April didn’t hear it. 

“Well, maybe Sterling is lucky,” said Hannah B. “Some people in the world just are.”

April’s judgmental stare intensified as Sterling picked up her cup of water and took a sip. Right after she had just put her lipstick on? There was no reason for Sterling to be this dumb.

“I don’t believe in luck,” April sighed. 

Right then, Luke walked by their table on his way to the trash and recycling area. He stood in front of the recycling bins in a confused daze. April’s face lit up with an idea. She jumped out of her seat and strolled over to the towering boy. 

“Need some help?”

“I miss the days of just trash,” Luke said as he glanced down at the two empty boxes of food in his hands. 

“Right? There’s a bin for everything now! Paper, glass...” April paused for effect and craned her neck to look up directly at Luke. “Latex.”

Luke’s eyes went wide, and the goofy smile melted away immediately. He nearly dropped the two boxes.

“Then again, without some rules and structure—guiding principles—it’d be anarchy!” she exclaimed.

Luke nodded, but leaned down to whisper, “Are we still talking about trash?”

God, he was such an amorphous blob!

April looked up at him with fake concern and said, very slowly so he wouldn’t get confused, “I know you and Sterling have strayed, and that might be fine for heathens and Yankees, but she’s head of Fellowship and you’re captain of the golf team. If you two aren’t walking the walk, how can you expect anyone else to?”

Luke began to stutter, “I don’t know… I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know, I know,” April said. She reached out and gave him a friendly pat on the arm before grabbing the trash out of his hands, which had undoubtedly been in the most disgusting places she could ever imagine. “Let me explain.”

Still wearing her look of faux concern, she tossed the boxes in their appropriate bins and led him to the corner of the lunch area. Fewer people would be able to hear them. April looked down at her feet and sighed loudly.

“Luke, I know you and Sterling were the culprits behind the condom rumor. She dropped her bag in front of me a few days ago, and an opened condom wrapper fell out. This is not a good look for a Fellowship Leader. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“I, um… Yes?” Luke replied. April could see sweat forming on his brow.

“So, you admit it. That was your condom wrapper.”

“Yes. I mean, no!”

“You said yes first, Luke,” said April, crossing her arms. “It wouldn’t be very Christian of you to lie to me.”

“You’re right,” Luke sighed. “God doesn’t like it when I lie.”

“Tell Sterling to resign from her position, or I’ll let everyone know you confirmed the rumor, okay?”

Luke looked unsure. He glanced over his shoulder at Sterling, then back at April, who was pretty sure she could see a tiny hamster wheel spinning in his brain. 

Defeated, Luke nodded and said, “Okay.”

“Good!” April exclaimed with a smile. “Even though you’ve strayed, I knew you’d make the right choice in the end.”

April strutted off to class as the bell rang, pleased with her ability to exploit the weak spot. Forensics Club had taught her well. She was confident she’d be claiming her rightful place as Fellowship Leader soon. Maybe Sterling would cry. Oh God, how she hoped Sterling would cry!

She paused in the hallway to check herself in the mirror on her phone case. Sometimes her friends mocked her for having a grandma phone case, but they simply failed to understand the practicality of having a mirror on hand at all times. The last thing she needed was a piece of meat stuck in her teeth during class.

“Unbelievable!” shouted a voice behind her.

April knew all too well who that voice belonged to, and she did _not_ want to hear it. Still, she put on her best fake smile and turned around to face Sterling. 

“Thank you,” she said sweetly. “I did a sheet mask.”

“You threatened Luke!”

“No, I exploited the weak spot,” April explained, enunciating each word to drive the point through Sterling’s thick skull. “Like we’re taught in Forensics.”

“We aren’t playing for trophies here,” said Sterling. “Luke is a person. A sweet, sensitive person. He can’t handle the pressure.”

That much was true. April had seen the sweat on his brow just from being asked about the condom rumor moments ago.

She looked directly at Sterling and replied, “Which is why I’ll spare outing him and you if you resign.”

“Why are you acting like this?” asked Sterling, pain apparent in her voice. “Is it because of what’s going on with your family? We go to the same church. I know what happened.”

How dare Sterling? April bristled at the accusation. She dropped her gaze, unable to look at the blonde buffoon invading her space. How dare she bring up John and rub her own perfect life right in April’s face? It wasn’t fair. Nothing about this was fair. April wanted to smash the nearest locker. 

“What John did is his problem,” said April through gritted teeth. 

“He’s still your dad.”

“I don’t care!” April cried. “He beat up a prostitute. I’m not a fan of sex workers, but they deserve to be safe. Just… not allowed to vote.”

It was deeper than that, though. John had cheated on her mother and broken one of the Ten Commandments. This man, this violent adulterer, had touted himself as a paragon of Christian morality for as long as April could remember, yet he cheated on his own wife and tore his family apart. He regularly screamed until he was purple in the face about how “the gays'' and their sexual deviancy would be the downfall of society, but April knew she would never cheat on her own wife if the Lord blessed her with one someday. She didn’t care whether or not he was her dad. He was an awful excuse for a human being. If her interpretation of God was wrong, and she ended up in Hell for loving women anyway, she would most certainly see his hypocritical ass there.

“April, I—”

“What?” she snapped, cutting Sterling off.

“I’m sorry.”

Bullshit! Since when had Little Miss Perfect ever been sorry about anything? 

Hot tears stung April’s eyes. She couldn’t let the mask slip and show her nemesis that she had struck a nerve. Sterling could never know that John was her own weak spot. April took a deep breath and prepared her next threat.

“Resign or pretty boy walks the plank. And there are sharks in the waters. And, like, rough coral reef.”

It didn’t come out quite as threatening as she’d hoped, but she didn’t stay to see Sterling’s reaction. April turned around and stormed off to the bathroom to dry her eyes in secret before her next class. The worst part of the whole interaction had been _Sterling Fucking Wesley_ daring to tell her she felt sorry for her. The audacity! “Humiliating” was the only word April could possibly use to describe it. The last thing she ever wanted was for her worst enemy to pity her.

As April blinked away tears in a filthy school bathroom stall, she tried her best not to think about the split second she had found herself wishing for Sterling to give her a hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry this took longer than usual! I’ve been working on this story as well as something fun for next month since next month is all about our lovely April. (Her name is on it, after all.) In addition to working on another story, I've taken on some more freelance work in anticipation of moving apartments and buying a car this summer. That has been eating up so much mental bandwidth. 
> 
> Updates on this might be a little slower for a few weeks, but I think you all will really enjoy what I’m putting together for April’s special month. 
> 
> Also, I ended up splitting my original plans for this chapter into two chapters because there was going to be too much happening, so this story will likely end up at about 22 chapters instead.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April takes over when Sterling steps down as Fellowship Leader, and Ezekiel gives the group a show they'll never forget.

April strolled into the Fellowship room with a thousand-watt smile and took a seat on the couch with her squad. Today was the day she had been looking forward to ever since she saw the condom wrapper spill out of Sterling’s bag. Watching that Fellowship Faker resign was going to be the best thing to happen since John’s arrest.

“You seem well-rested,” Ezekiel remarked.

It was true. April had _actually_ gotten eight hours of uninterrupted sleep— something that almost never happened anymore. She hadn’t been plagued with any disgusting nightmares about Sterling, either. She felt so refreshed this morning that she had even skipped her usual cup of coffee. 

“Thank you,” she replied brightly. “I got my full eight hours of beauty sleep last night.”

A visibly shaken Sterling appeared in the doorway with Luke in her shadow. April’s heart skipped a beat. It was happening! 

April caught Sterling’s eye when she made her way across the room and offered a condescending smile. The flash of a scowl on Sterling’s face as she took a seat in one of the chairs beside the couches was delicious. It made April wish she had made little bags of party favors to mark this momentous occasion.

“I know there’s been a lot of gossip around here lately, so I’d like to set the record straight,” Sterling began, her voice shaky. “In fact, Ellen? This is gonna be a little more teen-themed, so if you wouldn’t mind leaving.”

Ellen paused in the middle of taking a sip of coffee. Her eyes widened. Did April detect a hint of offense on her face? How dare Sterling! Ellen was the backbone of this school. 

“Really? Oh, yeah, sure,” said the teacher. “Yeah, I could… I gotta get my steps in. I’ll just step on out.”

April watched Ellen disappear into her office. Once the door closed behind Ellen, April turned back around and cast a stony glare at Sterling. She wanted her to feel the utter contempt deep in her bones.

“The condom wrapper was mine!” Sterling blurted out. “Luke and I are having sex.”

This was somehow not as satisfying as April had imagined it would be. She had hoped there would be tears, but there were none. At least not yet. The room fell silent. She glanced over her shoulder at Ezekiel and Hannah B., who had the audacity to look shocked even though April already told them what Sterling and her gross boyfriend had been doing!

Ezekiel began to giggle. April had never felt so betrayed! Her oldest friend refusing to believe in the only piece of information that could lead to her nemesis’s downfall was a crushing blow. She wondered if their friendship would ever recover from this.

Other kids began to follow suit. Soon, the room was filled with raucous laughter. Rage bubbled up within April. Why was it _so_ hard for everyone to believe that their perfect, precious Fellowship Leader had engaged in premarital sex? 

“What are you doing?” she hissed at Sterling.

“Confessing.”

“You’re not doing it right.”

“Again, y’all, we’re having sexual relations in the janitor’s closet… in his car… in this room, actually!” exclaimed Sterling. “Right, Luke?”

April hated the jokey tone of her stupid voice.

Luke had joined in on the laughter too. “Yeah, I wouldn’t sit on that couch!”

It dawned on April that he meant the couch she and her squad were currently sitting on. She didn’t know it was possible to feel as disgusted as she did in that moment. As soon as she got home, she was burning this uniform.

“No, no, no!” she shouted. “She is telling the truth.”

April reached into her bag and retrieved the physical evidence. She took a deep breath and stood up so the whole room could see what Sterling and Luke had done. 

“This is hers!”

The room fell silent. 

“It’s beautiful…” whispered Ezekiel.

Oh, hell no. She had to correct him. 

“It’s _disgusting_!”

“So why do you have it?” asked another boy.

“Because she dropped it, and I picked it up.”

“And decided to put it in a little baggie, like baby teeth?” inquired Blair Wesley, who was somehow worse than her sister. “That is disgusting.”

All eyes in the room were on her. April searched her peers’ faces for any trace of what they might be thinking. When she realized what was most likely going on in their minds, she started to panic a little.

“It’s not mine,” she insisted. She turned back to her friends, and in her desperation, begged Hannah B. to tell them.

As soon as Hannah B., opened her mouth, April realized she had quite possibly just made the worst mistake of her entire sixteen-year existence. Of course Hannah B. would have no problem telling them it wasn’t April’s because it wasn’t, but she might… overshare, to put it delicately. A wave of nausea hit April as she prayed that God would grant Hannah B. the brainpower to choose her words carefully. She’d sooner check herself into the Witness Protection Program than allow the entire school to call her Gaypril Stevens until graduation.

“Um, it isn’t!” offered an unconvincing Hannah B.

Well, at least she hadn’t fucked up quite as badly as April feared.

“April, if it’s yours, admit it,” demanded a girl on the other couch.

“Yeah, just tell us the truth,” echoed the boy next to her.

The room erupted in frenzied whispering. This was not going even remotely as well as April had hoped. She turned back to her friends in a silent plea for their help, but she knew neither of them had anything that would improve the situation. April sat back down, legs shaking, as she wondered how this had gone so poorly.

“Stop!” Sterling exclaimed, shooting up from her seat. “I’m not kidding. It really is mine.”

April looked up at her nemesis in pure shock. Sterling had been just about to get away with the whole thing. Why wasn’t she letting her take the fall? This didn’t make any sense. If the roles had been reversed, she knew deep down she would’ve let Sterling suffer. 

“God doesn’t care,” Sterling continued. “I’m a good person, and that’s all that matters, right?”

Embarrassed, April dropped her gaze to her lap. As horrible as it felt to have her worst enemy rescue her, April couldn’t help but wonder briefly if Sterling kept that energy when it came to gay people.

No one said a word. When April got the courage to look up again, she noticed Luke attempting to contort himself into a ball on the other couch. She made accidental eye contact with Sterling, who seemed to be silently begging her to say something. April knew that she should affirm Sterling’s statement because it was what she herself believed, but she stayed silent. 

“This is what you wanted. Congratulations, it’s all yours,” Sterling said with a tearful sigh before storming off to Ellen’s office.

April wondered why she felt like crying. This was indeed what she had wanted. In a few minutes, Fellowship would be all hers. Blair folded her arms and cast an icy glance her way, making her feel even worse. A few others were side-eying her as well. The room was still completely silent as Sterling remained in Ellen’s office for what felt like decades. 

Why did getting what she wanted seem so wrong? April had dreamed of this moment for days! She played with the corner of the plastic bag in an attempt to keep the tears at bay. Maybe Sterling standing up for her had been some kind of sick mind game. That had to be it. Obviously, Sterling had stood up for her in hopes that she would be so grateful, she’d brush the whole thing off as an elaborate prank and let her keep her position as Fellowship Leader. It was the only explanation that made any sense. 

The guilt bit April hard when a sniffling Sterling came out of Ellen’s office, then left the Fellowship room entirely. Sterling’s face looked more pathetic than April had anticipated. Blair and Luke jumped up from their seats and rushed after her. 

Maybe she hadn’t gone about this the right way.

Ellen poked her head out of the door and said, “Um… Sterling is stepping down as Fellowship Leader due to some little unforeseen circumstances. April, you were my runner-up. Do you mind taking over for now?”

April pushed her feelings aside and smiled. “It would be my pleasure.”

“I knew I could count on ya! I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.”

As soon as Ellen closed the door, April cleared her throat and stood up. The lost and scared kids of Fellowship needed her to be their beacon of light after Sterling had so sinfully betrayed the group. Guilt was so two minutes ago.

“Friends, I know we have all just suffered through an extremely traumatic event,” she began, “but I’m honored to be the one God has called upon to help guide y’all through it.”

“I can’t believe Sterling and Luke did that!” one student cried.

“I feel so lied to!” someone else piped up.

“I still don’t really understand, but I’m grossed out anyway,” whispered Hannah B. 

“Yes, Sterling and Luke lied to us all,” April sighed. “We have every right to feel hurt and afraid of what else these sex addicts are capable of. I think we need to confront our trauma head-on. Ezekiel, will you go get two of those puppets from last year’s Puppet Ministry show while I lead the rest of the group in prayer?”

“Of course!”

Ezekiel left the room to retrieve the puppets. April instructed her Fellowshipmates to bow their heads. She reached over for Hannah B.’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Poor, sweet, innocent Hannah B. was going to _hate_ the upcoming puppet show.

“Dear Heavenly Father, please help us heal from the trauma we have all just experienced in this room today. You are the only one powerful enough to forgive our lost friends, Sterling and Luke, for their erotic transgressions. We ask that you spare their immortal souls…”

April rambled for about five solid minutes. She said a silent prayer of her own in her mind as she went on. Even though she knew it had been wrong, she still hoped God would understand the rationale behind her behavior towards Sterling and forgive her for it.

When Ezekiel slipped back into the room holding a blonde girl puppet and a dark-haired boy puppet, April wrapped up both of her prayers. A brief moment of eye contact was all she needed to convey her plan to him. She stood up and made her way towards the center of the room. 

“I realize that some of you may not understand the sheer gravity of what Sterling and Luke have done, so I’ve asked my assistant, the witty and charming Ezekiel, to put on a little puppet show for educational purposes. We want you to truly understand why Sterling was unfit to lead.”

Wearing a grin entirely too wide, Ezekiel took his place next to her. April couldn’t help but roll her eyes. He was too excited about this. 

“I’m going to go sit with Hannah B.,” she whispered. “She’ll need some emotional support to get through this.”

“Good idea,” said Ezekiel with a nod. “Anyway, I call this one _The_ _Discovery Channel._ ”

The room watched with rapt attention as Ezekiel held up both puppets. Their resemblance to Sterling and Luke was uncanny, to say the least. April swore that the boy puppet even had Luke’s signature vacuous expression.

“I am so horny, and that makes baby Jesus sad,” Ezekiel said in a dead-ringer impression of Luke’s voice. 

“Oh my gosh, me too,” he made Puppet Sterling reply.

“No, babe. I’m the captain of the golf team, and you’re Fellowship Leader! We can’t!”

Ezekiel waved Puppet Sterling around dramatically and made her beg, “But Luke, I am so hungry for your boxer banana!”

Most of the Fellowship kids looked as if they were witnessing a gory train wreck, but April could hear a few giggles among the crowd. She cringed at Ezekiel’s choice of euphemism. That was one of the worst she had ever heard. 

“What does she mean by ‘boxer banana?’” a horrified Hannah B. whispered.

April patted her friend’s arm. “Don’t worry about it.”

“What if we just prayed?” asked Puppet Luke.

“Luke, you know God won’t listen to us when we’re horny!”

“You’re right,” Puppet Luke sighed, “but I don’t have a condom.”

“I stole an entire case of condoms from Walgreens in anticipation of this very moment because the Eighth Commandment means nothing to me. I’ve got to have you!” cried Puppet Sterling.

Ezekiel smashed the two puppets’ faces together and made a series of wet, exaggerated smooching sounds. April cringed again. A few students covered their eyes, and she didn’t blame them. This was the worst puppet show in the history of puppet shows. She regretted appointing Ezekiel to the task. To his credit, though, this was probably a verbatim retelling of what had happened. 

Puppet Sterling said, “I’m going to get a condom now and throw the wrapper on the ground. I hate the environment and all of God’s little wild creatures.”

Nothing could’ve prepared April for what came next. Ezekiel bent Puppet Sterling over and made Puppet Luke hump her like an ill-behaved dog. The noises he made for both puppets would forever be ugly burn marks on the wall of April’s mind castle. His demonstration made it too easy to imagine what had happened between them, and the mental images were profoundly upsetting. Hannah B. squealed in terror and buried her face in April’s shoulder. One girl burst into tears and ran out of the room. 

“Ezekiel, that’s enough!” April shouted. “I think we all get it now.”

“Girl, I was just getting started!”

“You got the point across… effectively.”

Ezekiel mumbled something under his breath, then went to go sit back down. April took over his place at the center of the room. She looked out into the group and saw innumerable pale, traumatized faces. 

“I’m so sorry we had to show that to y’all,” she said with a frown. “But it’s important that you know what happened and why you shouldn’t associate with either of those lost souls until God calls them back to the path of righteousness. Understand?”

“Yes, April,” said the group in unison.

“Good. I hope that under my guidance, we can all heal from this tragedy. My Instagram DMs are open if anyone needs to talk.”

The bell rang, signaling the end of Fellowship. April couldn’t hide the self-satisfied grin on her face. She had killed it on her first day of the job! Her Fellowshipmates truly needed her, and she was determined to be the best they could have. It was a welcome distraction from everything else going on in her life, after all.

She’d show Willingham what a true Fellowship Leader looked like. Sterling Wesley could never compare!

***

When April got home from school that afternoon, her mother was pickling some green beans in the kitchen. She seemed calmer than she had been since John’s arrest. Sgt. Bilko sat at her feet, watching her work. 

“Did you have a nice day at school, sweetie?” asked her mother.

“I did, actually.” April scooped up Sgt. Bilko and kissed the top of his head. “Sterling Wesley stepped down as Fellowship Leader, so Ellen assigned it to me instead. Some people just can’t handle the pressures of responsibility.”

“That’s wonderful. I know that will look good on your college application.”

April’s mother flashed a genuine smile, which caught her off guard. She couldn’t remember the last time her mother had actually _smiled_. At least she was in lighter spirits than she had been the previous night after coming home from the lawyer’s office. April had found it a little bit unsettling when she started yelling at the wedding album.

“Yes, it will. I’m so grateful for the opportunity. I guess it was God’s plan all along!” April replied. 

“I’m proud of you.”

April nearly dropped the cat in surprise. She could count the number of times either parent had said that to her on one hand.

“Thank you, Mom,” she said, attempting to hide the shock in her voice.

“We should celebrate. I could order in from that Chinese restaurant you like.”

“Yes ma’am, that sounds lovely.”

Her mother smiled again. “Great! Dinner at 7?”

“Sure. I’ll be in my room doing homework.”

April and Sgt. Bilko went upstairs. As she sat at her desk with her Pre-Calculus problem set in front of her, April wondered what had her mother in such a pleasant mood. She almost never saw that side of her and wasn’t sure what to make of it. Maybe she was trying to make up for John’s absence.

Her relationship with John was a lost cause, but maybe it wasn’t too late for April and her mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like Ezekiel, I had entirely too much fun with the puppet show. Those poor kids... I can just imagine how traumatizing it was to witness in person!


End file.
